Memory Keeping with Amberleigh

Let's welcome Amberleigh Smith, aka MemoryKeepingMama today. I've fallen in love with the gorgeous photobooks she shares in her Instagram feed every one of them is a gorgeous and coherent book with a minimalist aesthetic.

Melissa

Hello! My name is Amberleigh Smith and I live in the midwest of the USA. I’m a 37-year-old mom of 3 and married to my husband and best friend for 14 years. I work full-time as a project manager for a large company and have been documenting our family history since our first child was born 5-years ago. What started as physical paper scrapbooking has transformed into digital photobook creation using minimal supplies and focusing on words and images. I am a believer that less is more when it comes to printing our memories and that the thoughtful selection of what we print increases their significance. 

When it comes to products that support my design process I have 2 go-to companies. They are my tried-and-true. Wilson | Wilson boutique digital memory-keeping collections. Her design and aesthetic are timeless and I know when I use her products my albums will feel the same way. I also print my albums exclusively with Milk Books - their photo books are beautiful and archival. They stand up to heavy use and are worth the investment from my perspective. 

I used both of these products when I completed my first digital photobook in 2019. Since then I have continued to use them while my personal creation process has evolved. That evolution made a dynamic shift when I invested in Catherine Saunders’ Family Archive Photobook course in October 2022. Today my process is heavily influenced and aligned with her method. You can find her on Instagram @catsaunders her website is https://allthebest.co/ 

The most important part of my process is defining the scope. I sit down and outline for the album what timeframe I am documenting, and what images and memories will be included and excluded. Narrowing that universe is critical to combatting potential overwhelm. Arguably, the next step is the most important, and that is I set a budget. I like to create multiple photobooks per year so knowing how much I can invest is vital. It would be terribly upsetting to go through all the work of creating an album to then not be able to make the purchase. Once my scope and budget are set the real work begins - culling and selecting photos. Once that is complete I create my hero spreads - typically my favorite photo paired with a block of journaling. These are the spreads I will use the Wilson|Wilson products on as well. And once those hero spreads are complete it becomes an exercise of filling in the MIlkbook photobook pages using their online software. 

I’ve created 6 separate photobooks using this method, and I have another 4 projects in progress. I can’t imagine ever giving up this lifestyle. Documenting our family history is such a joy for me and sharing the fruits of my efforts with those I love is unlike any other experience in my life. Watching my family flip the pages of these albums is priceless. 

You can find me hanging out and sharing about all things memory keeping on Instagram @memorykeepingmama  I love chatting with others about all things memory keeping. 

Amberleigh

Feeling inspired? If you'd like a hand making your own photo books, check out my Simple Family Yearbook Class

Melissa